Monday, July 18, 2016

"You're so pretty, you don't need makeup" is one of the more seemingly innocent things someone can use as a compliment. However, a compliment that puts down another group of people is not a compliment. I mean, think about the opposite of this phrase. Without meaning to, the people who use this phrase are saying that someone who doesn't fit their standard of beauty needs to wear makeup to cover up their obvious "ugliness". They're saying "if you wear make-up, you're ugly, because if you were pretty, you wouldn't need to spend an hour 'putting your face on' every morning".

But here is the thing: even the most beautiful women on the planet wear make-up. Women who fit Western standards of beauty to a 'T' still wear foundation, still hide freckles and bags under their eyes. They battle acne with concealer, cleverly plump their lips, and spend hours contouring to have the perfectly chiseled look. Looking a certain way is not a prerequisite to wearing makeup. Makeup is about enhancing your features to feel like the best version of yourself. And if that amount of makeup is no makeup, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, either.

What I'm saying here is: wearing makeup or not wearing makeup has nothing to do with the way one looks, and does not determine "prettiness". My whole life I've been told I would never need makeup because I was so pretty. So anytime I wanted to wear makeup, I felt ugly. Because if I was actually pretty, I wouldn't be getting red splotches all over my face that I had to cover up. It wasn't until college that I realized that I could wear makeup, regardless of what other people told me I looked like.

I constantly go back and forth on whether or not I want to wear makeup. Some days I don't want to go through the hassle, and some days I'm just going barefaced in order to let my skin breathe and appreciate my natural self. Other days I feel like getting glammed up, putting on my mauve lipstick, and werking a smokey-eye look. Either way, I'm still the girl my parental units called beautiful, right?

Also, who are we, as people, to tell others what they should or shouldn't put on their face. It's like showing up at their house and telling them what not to wear each day. Its kind of no one's business but theirs. No one should be taking ownership of other people's bodies or faces, even if it is meant with the best intentions.

We should be thinking more about what we are saying to each other, and about each other, even if unintentionally. And in regards to makeup, you do you, beautiful. Only you decide how you look best.